1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to receptacles, and more specifically to receptacles that can be constructed from one piece of material and to receptacles providing convenient accessibility to frequently accessed items.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Credit-card-sized pass-keys are increasingly common substitutes for keys. Unfortunately for people who use them, these pass-keys are so small as to be easily lost. This circumstance is particularly inconvenient when a vehicle driver is trying to get out of a parking garage, for example, and the driver cannot find the pass-key necessary to do so. The situation reaches nightmarish proportions in an all-too-familiar scenario, when an office-building-full of other drivers line up behind a front driver and angrily honk while the front driver searches frantically for a pass-key, trying to escape the other drivers' wrath. Various persons recognizing this problem have devised receptacles for cards and receptacles for use in vehicles; however, no such prior device has the simplicity of construction and ease-of-use existing in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,463,619, issued to Prince A. Gardner, on Jul. 31, 1923, shows a card case having complex construction. This card case is not constructed from a single piece of material and there is no showing in this patent of mounting the card case in a vehicle for easy accessibility of a key card.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,590,006, issued to Marvin H. Werley, on Jun. 22, 1926, shows an identification card receptacle for automobiles, in which unlocking and locking of the receptacle occur simultaneously with ignition and stopping of ignition, respectively. Even when the receptacle is unlocked, access to contents of the receptacle is still difficult in comparison with the present invention. This card case is not constructed from a single piece of material and is not easily accessible when installed in a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,505, issued to Lawrence H. Wilkinson, on Dec. 3, 1974, shows a card holder for vehicles, in which unlocking and locking of the receptacle occur simultaneously with ignition and stopping of ignition, respectively. This card holder requires that a card used with the holder have a central aperture, and hence is unsuitable for use with conventional key cards that have no such aperture. Moreover, this card case is not constructed from a single piece of material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,400, issued to James H. Mangan, on Feb. 27, 1979, shows a protective holder for magnetic cards comprised by a pair of thin plates, one of the plates having projecting ribs. This card case is not constructed from a single piece of material and there is no showing in this patent of mounting the card case in a vehicle for easy accessibility of a key card.
French Patent Document No. 2 638 619, issued to Wen Chi Hu, on May 11, 1990, shows a card holder for magnetic cards. This holder has two rigid layers and, optionally, a woolen covering. One side of this holder has a thicker inner width as compared to an inner width of a remaining side. There are two indentations apparently for easier gripping of a card in this holder. There is no indication in this patent that this holder is constructed from a single piece of material in the manner of the present invention, nor that the holder should be used in a vehicle for easy access to a key card.
Norwegian Patent Document No. 15255, issued to Boghandler Gustav Kaufmann, on Jun. 5, 1906, shows a receptacle for flat, rectangular items having two indentations apparently for easier gripping of a card in this holder. There is no indication that the holder in this patent is constructed in the same manner as is the present invention.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.